Shanda
by Danja
Summary: An amnesiac Edison tries to keep a promise he made long ago. NEW CHAPTER UP!
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

* * *

STATIC

FADE IN:

"And five, four, three …" Murray counted down as he stood in the back of Network 23's controller bay. "Roll intro."

Theora sat at her computer, made a few keystrokes, and cued the intro to Edison Carter's "What I Want To Know Show".

* * *

"This is Edison Carter, coming to you live and direct from Warrington Heights, in the middle of a gang shootout," said Edison into the lens of his vidcam. Behind him lay an industrial wasteland of decaying, crumbling, semi-collapsed tenements and storefronts.

Intermittent gunfire rang through the air.

"This fight in particular has been going on for the past two hours now," Edison continued.

* * *

"This is boring," Murray muttered as he stood behind Theora. He then asked Theora off-handedly, "Think you could get him to get us a corpse? It'd do wonders for the ratings."

Theora ignored Murray, her attention focused on Edison. She made a few keystrokes here and there, trimming the focus.

"We _SO_ need a corpse," Murray mused to himself.

* * *

All at once, an explosion sent Edison to the ground, unconscious. Static filled the overhead screen back at Network 23.

"GET MARTINEZ IN THERE _NOW!_" Murray roared. "I WANT FIRE E-M-S ON STANDBY!" He then ran out of the controller bay.

Theora glared at Murray as he ran out of the room.

_You wanted a corpse, _Theora thought acidly. _I just wish it wasn't Edison Carter's_.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

* * *

A dazed Edison Carter woke up in the hospital bed.

_Where _AM _I? _he wondered. His head was swimming in pain and confusion.

_Explosion. _Edison squeezed his temples, trying to make sense of all this. _What the hell happened?_

He looked up at the clock on the wall. _Oh-eight-hundred hours._

All at once, Max Headroom suddenly appeared on the 32-inch flat screen TV hanging on the wall in front of his bed.

"Hi, guy!" Max announced cheerfully.

Edison let out a yelp and slid backwards in his bed, away from Max.

"Who _ARE_ you?" Edison exclaimed, his eyes bulging with fright.

"It's me … M-Max," Max replied from the screen, a confused expression on his face.

"I don't know any 'Max'," Edison spat out, his chest rising and falling.

"I thought we were f-f-friends ..."

"I'm not your friend!" Edison shot back angrily. His senses now on high alert, he noticed the IV in his wrist. He tore away the tape and ripped the IV out of his wrist.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you ..." Max cautioned.

"_FUCK YOU!_" Edison screamed, a trickle of blood flowing from his wrist.

_Shit, _he thought as he looked down at the blood running down his hand. He got out of bed, went to the bathroom, tore off a strip of toilet paper, and held it to his bleeding wrist.

_Gotta get away from that …_THING.

A nurse appeared in the doorway. "Mr. Carter, what are you doing?" she asked.

"_LEAVING!_" Edison snapped. "Where are my clothes?"

"In the cabinet over there," the nurse replied, pointing to a nearby cabinet. "You're in no condition to be discharged …"

Edison opened the cabinet and grabbed a plastic bag that contained his clothes and personal items. He opened the bag, pulled out his pants and underwear, and started getting dressed.

"No way I'm staying here with … _THAT!_" exclaimed Edison as he pointed towards Max.

* * *

"Edison has just left the hospital," said Max to Theora as he appeared on her computer screen at Network 23.

Theora looked up at Max. "Why would he leave?" she asked. "He's not due to be discharged."

"I d-d-dunno," Max replied. "I visited him in th-th-the hospital."

"You _WHAT?_" Theora exclaimed.

"I visited him in the hospital," Max continued. "Funny thing … he d-d-d-didn't seem t-to r-r-r-recogniz-z-ze m-me.

"I said 'Good morning'. N-next thing I kn-knew, he grabbed his clothes and l-l-left."

Theora's blood suddenly ran cold. _Oh, no. _She frantically made a few keystrokes and called up a vidphone on her monitor.

A nurse appeared on Theora's monitor. "Metro Hospital", she answered.

"Is Edison Carter there?"

"He left about a half-hour ago, against doctor's orders," the nurse replied.

"Thanks. That's all I needed to know," said Theora as she hung up the vidphone.

Theora stared at her monitor, all the air now having escaped her body.

_Just what Network 23 doesn't need, _Theora thought._ An expensive, amnesiac star reporter roaming the streets concussed._


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

* * *

"We'll find him," said Murray to Ben Cheviot over the vidphone in Murray's office.

"See that you do," Cheviot replied. "If word of this ever got out …"

"I have Theora and Bryce working on this as we speak."

"Ratings are down ten percent as is!" Cheviot exclaimed. "God only knows _WHAT_ will happen if we can't get him back."

"We'll find him, I promise," said Murray, in an attempt to soothe Cheviot.

* * *

"Network 23," said the receptionist on the pay vidphone.

"This is Edison Carter. I need to speak to Gorrister," said Edison. He was on the street, on a pay vidphone outside of a bank. His clothes were a disheveled mess. He was wearing his blue watch cap (something he always kept in the pocket of his jacket … for times like these).

"I'm afraid that's not possible," the receptionist replied.

"Why not?"

A look of puzzlement crossed the receptionist's face. "Mr. Carter … Mr. Gorrister has been dead for three years."

"WHAT?" _Gorrister ... Dead?_

"I'll patch you through to Control …"

Edison slammed the receiver down on its cradle, hanging up the vidphone before the receptionist could do anything. He then turned and walked away.

_No time for that, _he thought. _Gotta find Shanda._

* * *

All the while, Edison's Network 23 ID card sat in his wallet.

A tracking chip embedded in his ID card emitted a silent signal.

* * *

Three blocks away, Theora sat in her car, tracking Edison's movements on a smartphone. Today, she wore a pair of chic wire-rimmed sunglasses.

Her smartphone rang. Network 23.

"Theora," she answered the phone.

"Just got a call from Reception," said Murray on the other end of the line. "Edison called, asking about Gorrister."

Theora shook her head. _Not good._

* * *

Five blocks away, Edison ran down the street, turned a corner, and walked down a flight of stairs that ran below the street into a subway station.

* * *

_Damn,_ Theora swore to herself. _I've lost the signal._

"Bryce, I've lost Edison," said Theora. She tapped her smartphone and added, "He went down into the Number Five subway terminal."

"Hold on, I'll patch into the securicam system," replied Bryce back at Network 23.

Theora tapped her smartphone. "Next subway is Number Five northbound," she said. "Should be here in ten minutes." With a few more taps on her smartphone, she called up a map of the Number Five line.

"Are there any places within walking distance of the line that might be of interest to Edison?" Theora asked Bryce. "Past residences? Known associates?"

Bryce made a few keystrokes. "Negative," he replied, shaking his head. "Nothing here I can see. Nothing within walking distance." He then added, "I don't see why you don't just chase him and grab him."

"He's been on the run now for ninety minutes," Theora explained. "Eventually, he's going to get tired and stop.

"When he does, that's when I'll make my move."

* * *

Below street level, Edison stuck a credit tube into the turnstile, walked through the turnstile, and got onto the subway.

* * *

A securicam image of Edison getting onto the subway appeared on Theora's smartphone.

"He's just boarded the subway," said Bryce, stating the obvious.

_I can _SEE_ that,_ grumbled Theora to herself. She then started her car and said, "Moving on. Theora out."

* * *

Edison sat down on the subway, massaging his sore knees.

"Lowell Avenue," announced the driver over a loudspeaker.

Edison grimaced in pain. _I don't know how much more of this I can take._

* * *

Theora switched back-and-forth between Edison in the subway and the map of the subway line.

_Subway ends at Bridgegate Mall,_ she thought. _Lowell Avenue is the last stop before Bridgegate._

* * *

"Bridgegate Mall", announced the driver over the loudspeaker. "Last stop. All out."

Edison got up from his seat on the subway and staggered out into the terminal, his knees screaming in pain.

_Gotta sit down,_ he thought. _Gotta rest._

Edison collapsed onto a nearby bench. He held his head in his hands and squeezed his temples._  
_

_OK,_ NOW _what?_

A female voice cried out "_EDISON!_".

Edison looked up and saw Theora standing before him, grabbing his wrist

"Who are you?" Edison asked, too tired to do anything more. "How do you know my name?"

P_robably a fan,_ Edison thought. _You_ ARE _on TV, after all._

Theora reached into her purse, produced a black leather ID case, and flashed her Network 23 ID card.

"My name is Theora Jones. I'm with Network 23," she said, gasping for breath. "I'm your controller."


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

* * *

"Thanks, I really appreciate this," said Edison to Theora over lunch at Holy Chow!, a Chinese take-out place that was a few blocks away from Bridgegate Mall.

Theora smiled. "You're welcome," she said. Edison was having his usual kung pao chicken. Theora was having her usual sweet-and-sour chicken with fried rice.

_Him and his kung pao chicken, _Theora thought with a bemused grin. _I might have known he'd order that._

_Some things never change._

"Not much for ZikZak, huh?" asked Edison.

"I don't know what's in there … and I don't _WANT_ to know what's in there," Theora replied firmly.

"I hear their burgers are great for cleaning sinks," joked Edison.

Theora grimaced and let out a snort, trying to hold back a laugh.

"How did Gorrister die?" Edison asked, changing the subject.

Theora swallowed and replied, "Heart failure."

Edison shook his head. "Figures," he said. He then took a bite of kung pao chicken and added, "Guy smoked like a chimney and drank like a fish.

"I guess I shouldn't have been surprised."

"Who's Shanda?" Theora asked.

Edison looked up. "What?"

"Who's Shanda?" Theora repeated. "You kept mentioning her name on the way over."

Edison looked down at his kung pao chicken. "Long story," he said, dragging his fork absentmindedly through the chicken on his plate.

"Is that why you ran from the hospital?" Theora asked.

Edison looked up at Theora and replied, "A long, _UNFINISHED_ story."

"Care to talk about it?"

Edison stared at his plate in silence.

"How long ago was this?" Theora asked, pressing on.

"Three years ago," Edison replied. He then caught himself and added, "If Gorrister's been dead for three years …"

"It'd be more like _SIX_ years ago now," said Theora, doing the math.

"Has it really been _THAT_ long?"

"Edison, you're not well," cautioned Theora. "This is not the time to be chasing after a story … _ANY_ story.

"_ESPECIALLY_ one that's six years old."

Edison let out a breath. "Her name was Shanda McGregor," he said. "She was sixteen … murdered in cold blood.

"Promised her I'd find her killer."

"Edison, you're a reporter, not a police officer!" exclaimed Theora. "It's not your job to catch criminals." Theora paused. "Let it go."

"I can't …"

"You have to," said Theora. "Your job is to _REPORT_ the news, not to be a _PART_ of it!

"I shouldn't have to be telling you this."

"It's been gnawing at me … six years now," said Edison. "I was _SO_ close!"

"What do you mean?" asked Theora.

"They found the gun that was used in the murder ... but they never found the barrel," said Edison. "They can't link the guy to the murder."

"Who's 'they'? " Theora inquired.

"They … Sheriff's Office," said Edison. "Taylor County."

Theora drummed her fingers on the table and let out a breath. _Taylor County_, she thought. _It just _HAD _to be Taylor County._

_Small, rural … everyone knows everyone else. Good luck getting a conviction there._

"So you're telling me this girl was shot?" Theora asked, getting back to the subject.

Edison nodded. "Three shots," he said. "She was cremated before they could do an autopsy."

Theora frowned. "That's illegal," she said. "In this state, if there's a suspicion of foul play as a cause of death ..."

"An autopsy is mandatory," said Edison, completing Theora's sentence.

"How do you know she was shot three times?"

"That's how many bullets the funeral home found in her ashes," Edison replied.

Theora stared at Edison. _I don't want to do this, _she thought.

_At the same time, knowing Edison ... if I'm not there, he'll run off and do this on his own without me._

_That ... _WOULD _be dangerous._

"Sounds interesting," she said finally.

Edison smirked and said, "I thought you said 'Let it go'."


End file.
